Daniel Sturridge ordered to pay $30,000 to the person who returned his dog

Daniel Sturridge, an English soccer star, has been ordered to pay $30,000 to a Los Angeles man who found the player’s missing dog in 2019 and has gone to court to reclaim his part. bonus he said he was denied for the return of the Pomeranian.

After announcing that his Los Angeles home had been broken into, Mr. Sturridge said in a statement videotapes at which point he would “pay whatever it takes” to get his missing dog back, offering “20 Gs, 30 Gs, whatever” as a reward without specifying the currency.

Shortly after that video was posted, Foster Washington of Los Angeles found the dog Lucci and returned it to Sturridge, according to court records. But Mr. Washington, 30, said he was never paid, and in March he filed a lawsuit for breach of contract.

On Tuesday, Judge Curtis A. Kin of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County issued a default judgment, awarding $30,000 in punitive damages to Mr. Washington.

Mr Sturridge, a former England star who played for Liverpool and Chelsea and is now a striker for Australia’s Perth Glory, said on Twitter on Saturday that “others are trying to get their own personal gain”. ” and relates another story to Mr. Washington’s about how the dog was rehabilitated.

“Just to tell you the truth about xmas!” Mr. Sturridge mentioned above Twitter. “I met a boy who found my dog ​​and paid him a reward, he was so happy I got my dog ​​back because it was stolen.”

Mr. Sturridge and his representatives did not immediately respond to emails on Saturday. Direct messages are sent to a Instagram account for Lucci, which has more than 34,000 followers, has not been returned.

It all started in July 2019, after Mr. Sturridge’s home was broken into and he discovered that Lucci was missing.

“I want my dog ​​back,” he said in a video, added: “How can you break into a house in LA and get someone’s dog? Are you crazy?”

Mr. Washington, who earns $14 an hour as a security guard and has three children, said he was walking home when he and his best friend’s son saw a dog near 88th Street. and South Central Avenue. The boy’s family could not afford a pet, so Mr. Washington said he decided to bring the dog home.

Hours later, a friend told Mr. Washington that Mr. Sturridge was looking for a dog that looked just like the one he had raised.

Mr. Washington said on Saturday. “And I was like, “What? “He said he had no idea who Mr Sturridge was at the time.

That day, Mr. Washington posted a photo of the dog on Twitter and asked Mr. Sturridge if it was Lucci.

Mr. Washington then contacted Kimberly Cheng from Los Angeles news station KTLA. Mr. Washington said she connected him with Mr. Sturridge’s representatives. Ms. Cheng did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

Mr. Washington said the dog had a small number tattoo on his stomach. Mr. Sturridge asked Mr. Washington by phone to identify the sign to make sure it was indeed Lucci, Mr. Washington said.

They agreed to meet, and when Mr. Sturridge got the dog back, he thanked Mr. Washington.

“I was like, ‘Hey, man, what’s with the reward? Mr. Washington said. “He said, ‘There’s no reward.'”

Mr Washington has attempted to contact Mr Sturridge, who joined Liverpool in 2013 on contract Reportedly worth around £12 million (nearly $20 million at the time), and his agents several times over the course of weeks to no avail. Mr. Washington said his phone number and social media accounts were locked.

It remains unclear whether anyone has been arrested in connection with the break-in or theft by Lucci, who is described in court papers as a rare Pomeranian worth around £4,000, or 5,300 USD. Los Angeles police did not respond to messages on Saturday.

Mr. Washington went to police, who “concluded that he was not one of the thieves, or was involved in theft of any kind,” the lawsuit says. “Mr. Washington has never been implicated in any wrongdoing.”

The lawsuit adds that Mr. Washington “did not receive benefit from his bargain for providing the dog in a safe and healthy manner”.

Mr. Washington said he had received messages online from people calling him selfish for wanting to be paid, but during the pandemic, when he was in financial difficulty, he decided to apply. to sue.

“I don’t understand how bad of a guy I am to expect him to honor this award,” he said, adding: “Thirty thousand dollars is a lot of money. For anyone, it’s a life-changing amount. ”